The early race intrigue was on howDenny Hamlin, second in NASCAR's Chase for the Cup standings, would fare after being forced to the back of the Pepsi Max 400 field because he had to change his transmission. It was the fifth time this year that Hamlin started at the back, with his highest finish being 24th. But he showed few problems knocking off 16 cars in the first 26 miles.
Jeff Gordon, who started 17th, also had a lot of pick up in the first few laps, going from 17th to fifth by the 14th lap.
Meanwhile, pole-winnerJamie McMurrayheld on to his lead until the 16th lap whenMatt Kensethpassed him to be the second leader of the 400-mile race.
Meanwhile, the field was starting to get strung out and by the 22nd lap two cars had been lapped --Kevin ConwayandLandon Cassill.
After 50 miles, the top five racers were Kenseth,Jimmie Johnson, McMurray,Elliott SadlerandClint Bowyer.
-----
It's not that anyone doesn't wantJimmie Johnsonto do poorly in the Pepsi Max 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. It's just his dominance at this track makes things pretty boring. Johnson has won at this track five times and the fact he's leading NASCAR's Chase for the Cup means this could be a long afternoon of strung out racing.
The Fontana track has had trouble keeping things interesting with essentially only one groove, which means not a lot of passing. The drivers like the track because they can maneuver all over the surface, sometimes leading to three-wide racing.
Johnson is starting eighth, alongsideDale Earnhardt Jr. NASCAR has had both an attendance and ratings slide this week and some speculate it is because of the lack of real personalities in the sport. Junior could change all that but his career has only been a shadow of his father's.
Come back here for updates as race time is upon us.
--John Cherwa
Photo: The car of Dale Earnhardt Jr. is inspected before the Pepsi Max 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Sunday. Credit: Kelvin Kuo / US Presswire
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий